1. Field of the Invention
This invention deals with a combined heat and power generator unit which includes an internal combustion engine which powers an electric generator. The waste heat of the internal combustion engine is utilized via one or several cooling water circulation systems (motor waste heat, exhaust heat, generator waste heat). These circulation systems are used to heat water. The simultaneously generated electricity is either used by the operating authority--wholly or partially--or is sold to the power company.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Presently known combined heat and power generators have been used mainly for community or commercial purposes, due to the motor size used.
For these applications, individual machine rooms have usually been built; therefore, there were no stringent requirements for soundproofing of the units. The units were mostly "open" (accessible) machines with only the exhaust sounds of the internal combustion unit being dampened using a muffler.
Smaller units, which are on the market in small numbers, have been encapsulated and soundproofed using commercially available soundproofing materials. Therefore sound insulating elements of different designs have been implemented to reduce the noise level.
In all cases one of the two main purposes of the combined heat and power generation units is the generation of heat. This heat is stored "somehow" in all cases because the generation and the usage (of the heat) occurs in many cases, at different times and does not match the demand.
The dampening of soundwaves is a linear function of the weight of the walls being hit by the sound waves. The higher the weight of these walls, the better the sound attenuation.
On all combined heat and power generation units one disadvantage is that one can generate heat and electricity, however the cost for soundproofing alone is relatively high.
Another disadvantage of the known combined heat and power generation units is that the generation of warm water for producing potable water and for heating water is rather costly because the equipment required is located externally from the heat and power generation unit--and they therefore need lots of room and big buildings.